Beautiful!...

This great son of Bihar rests in peace in Sasram, Bihar where he was born. The name of the fort Rohtas was coined on the name of Rohtasgarh the first fort that he captured in Bihar, India.

good information

Worth a visit....

Intrigued by the construction of arches. Was any formwork used or some other technique?

Rohtas is a place in indian state Bihar ..Sher sah suri 's kingdom was there .

in my view, the greatest tragedy for india was the short rule by sher shah suri. the development work undertaken by him, that too for public good, was remarkable. had he ruled 20 years instead of four, he might have developed universities instead of taj mahals. alas, it was not to be

Awesome place.............I had a desire to visit that place...

A remarkable example of our composite culture

@atif , was remarkable. had he ruled 20 years instead of four, he might have developed universities instead of taj mahals. alas, it was not to be To day Taliban is Destroying Schools.It the General Arabic attitude the Muslims all over the world embrace after falling under the Sward of Islam.

Sher Shah Suri has 'widened and firmed-up' the Grand Trunk Road, the already existing 'Uttarapatha' - the Northern High Road of the yore - the main 'Arterial Route' with connecting routes to all the 16 Mahajanapathas of Ancient Iron Age India. Please get firm on the facts of History. The name Uttarapatha is derived from the Sanskrit terms uttara, for north, and patha, for road. Initially, the term Uttarapatha referred to the northern high road, the main trade route that followed along the river Ganges, crossed the Indo-Gangetic watershed, ran through the Punjab to Taxila (Gandhara) and further to Zariaspa or Balkh (Bactria) in Central Asia. The eastern terminus of the Uttarapatha was Tamraliptika or Tamluk located at the mouth of Ganges in west Bengal. This route became increasingly important due to increasing maritime contacts with the seaports on the eastern coast of India during the Maurya rule. Later, Uttarapatha was the name lent to the vast expanse of region which the northern high road traversed. Corresponding to Uttarapatha, the Dakshinapatha was the name of southern high road which originated from Varanasi (Banaras), followed through Ujjaini and Narmada valley to Pratisthana (Paithan) in the Mahajanapada of Ashmaka (in modern Maharashtra), onwards to the western coast of India and running in the southern direction. According to Land of the Seven Rivers: A Brief History of India's Geography by Sanjeev Sanyal, the crossing of the two highways made Sarnath (just outside Varanasi) a major place of exchange of goods and ideas in ancient India. Sanyal argues that this is why the Buddha gave his first sermon at Sarnath.

Superb !

@atif ....No....Universities is not part of islamic culture. There are so many muslim countries and many of them are very rich. But they don't have any good university. Rather muslims destroyed Nalanda university. Shahjahan rejected offer of printing press. So it may sound romantic that, if he alived he would have done this. But thinking more rationally it doesn't look like the case.....

It is in dilapidated condition. I happened to visit a few years ago.unhygienic conditions all around. Refreshments available in exorbitant rates, that too of poor quality. Khadin Punjab may like to look into it.

"Why such tragedies happen with India,soon after Sher Shah Suri..Once again a Hindu ruler "Hemachandra Vikramaditya" ascended on throne of Delhi...but fate of India was decided by a arrow in his eye..when "Dara Shikoh" was about to nurture this great land..a tyrant name Aurangzeb killed him...when India got independence in 1947 the Mother Land was cut in 3 pieces."

@atif The Persians and their Pushtun scouts and mercenaries came through to sack Delhi because those fortifications were no longer maintained. Indian traders for centuries were familiar with The Great Wall. So just after 1700AD Delhi was looted by Nadir Shah. That is why the Iranians are rich today and the Shan of Iran inherited vast treasures. Unbelievable and stunning wealth and treasures. The city was just a cantonment like those of Europe around at same time. The cantonments were rebuilt into commercial trading cities in the 18th century. The city of Metz in Northeast France goes back to the civilization of the Germanic tribe of the Goths conquered by Julius Caesar in 52BC, but that primitive civilization went back 3,000 years before that time and was a center of ancient metallurgy which the Persians, and Greeks inherited. The Gothic tribes would return to Rome in 410AD as conquers of Rome. The wall around the town of Metz looks very similar to these photos, but it was huge, rebuilt by German engineers in the early 16th century when Italian city states traded with the world. It was build against the attacks of the Ottoman Turks. Build an economy of riches and it will be raided. When the American army reached the city of Metz in World War II it took weeks to capture even with tanks and artillery. You are right, Atif, but peace and love are difficult to hang onto. The Mogols were lovers not fighters when the barbarians came to India.

@Abdulrehman For the construction of arches and domes ,instead of frame works they used special and unique method .they used to fill up below portion of the arch or dome by available soil and nicely plastered with surki mortar or mud plaster to get desired shape and size with smooth finishing .after construction of the structures , these earth used to be removed .

Great place to setup a telescope if you are into star gazing. Has special place for me cause my parents were born not that far from this place. Just imagine it being lit up during the days of its glory, you can see it is fading away now, as usual the establishment is showing no care for protection of heritage.

@Professor Kumaraguru Thanks Sir. Pls do keep enlightening us whenever possible.

A great Pushtoon King, Pushtoons in both Pak and Afghanistan someone like him to save them from Pakistani subjugation

Rohtas is also notable in Sikh history as the native place of Mata Sahib Devari, a spouse of Guru Gobind Singh, and commonly designated as the Mother of the Khalsa. Rohtas was conquered by a combined force of Gujjar Singh Bharigi and Charhat Singh Sukkarchakkia in 1767. Shah Zaman, grandson of the Afghan invader Ahmad Shah Durrani, reconquered it in January 1787, but it was seized a few years later by Maharaja Ranjit Singh under whom it remained an important military post and halting station during his northwestern campaigns.

Ozymandias I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed. And on the pedestal these words appear: `My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!' Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, The lone and level sands stretch far away". Percy Bysshe Shelley

Beautiful pictures. Thanks.

Why do Pakistanis have this overwhelming desire to be associated with the Arabs when we have such remarkable history to share?? It must be quite terribly distressing to want to be part of something you are not, especially when the other party doesnt want to have anything to do with you.

@Bhai Universities, Art and culture have been a part of Muslim culture from the very beginning. Let me give yo uname s of cities that were world cultural centres for centuries: Seville, Granada, Cordoba, Bagahdad, Aligargh, Dehli, Banaras, Cairo, Damascus, Istanbul, just to name a few. There are others in africa and Europe. So please get your facts straight

Visit the place before it falls - like all other archeological sites of the country thru negligence.

One of the BEST Pashtun kings ever to have embraced the region.

I do not understand why you use the term subcontinent instead of India. You can not just change the history by juggling words.

@Professor Kumaraguru excellent, even I know Banaras was a name which many Muslims children were named.

Qila Rohtas – legacy of the subcontinent’s ‘Lion King’. This is awesome! Unfortunately, these historical buildings are totally ignored as they are in India. Western civilizations use their ancient structures for tourism and maintain them. We are stuck with the religious struggles and have no time to prosper! Caring for our historical monuments is not living in the past, it is learning from it to make our future brighter!

I was this fort in 1984 after my matriculation exams... it was sheer fun. locals use to give us a lot of respect / love ... freedom prevailed. people were nice and honest... for 3 days locals did not let us buy anything from the local bazaar. even they made us sleep in their houses on rotation basis... lovely memoires... wish Pakistan become a peaceful place again.

I visited couple of years back. The place is falling to pieces generally and could really do with some funding to maintain/fix it. There is a village inside with people keeping their livestock in abandoned parts of the fort that still afford some shelter. Some parts are already utterly beyond repair or salvage. Its criminal of Pakistani government to abandon this beautiful and characterful fort to nature which is slowly but surely taking its toll.

How about a colony inside Rohtas?

I have no word to say after seeing the pics , its amazing. As a native of Bihar(India) , i went several times shershah tomb situated at rohatas (sasaram), but thrilled to know about the part of legacy which i didn't know on other side of border. Just amazing..

@OOps... If one studies indian history, I certainly agree with gentle men's view on the tragedies. Short but informative judgement

@Imran K I was born in Jhelum city and have kin folk who live in the village inside the Fort. A lot of repairs have been done in the last few years and it looks much better then before these days.

And in Bihar,we have maintained his mausoleum very well.

@Professor Kumaraguru your utharpartha and tharlikapartha were rudimentary routes, but the great muslim conquerors like the Mughals and the brief rule of Sher shah Suri brought uplift of standards, systematic and rationale based infrastructure. This helped the many kingdoms , now nations, on the sub continent to progress socially and economically.

@Cyrus Ho when the civilised muslims came to the sub continent, they saw barbarity, like they had never seen before. Cast system, widow burning, child sexual slaves, priests unholy practises. Finally they brought culture, refinement and civility to this south asian sub continent. All of India has them to thank for. To this day India is known for Taj Mahal, which Shah Jahan built.

Shershah was Singham.

Also on the primses birth place of Mata Sahib Kaur the mother of Khalsa , and a Gurdwra Sahib ( Choa Guru Nanak) when you look down from Talaaki Gate towards Kulwant Pura. Thanks to the people of Pakistan for the up keep.

@Datta.... Because we have been hijacked by Maulvis since inception especially since President Zia. Lot of money comes in the country from other countries in the name of religion. I agree we have nothing common with Arabs, religion aside. Guess why our brides wear red clothes on wedding

@Dwaraka nath Thanks a lot for your info. For large arches such as for the main gates, the supporting mounds would be huge and a remarkable structure in itself.

@haroon what are you talking about Subjugation we pushtoons are everywhere in every sphere of life .. stop talking rubbish!! I am proud to be Pakistani and proud that my ancestors were from Afghanistan and Pushtoon!! for that matter!! I love both countries ..and love India too despite reservations with their Agencies operating against Pakistan interest and Pakistanis ..its not general Indian people's fault! there are bad mix everywhere we need to learn to love and respect one another and rise beyond hatred and racism of any kind.

Very interesting! Now Rohtaas is a district (Zila) in Bihar and Saasaaraam is the headquarter of Rohtas Zila. Rohtas Quila (fort) is situated in this district, pretty close to the river Sone, a contributory to the river Ganga (Gangage). Sasaram has the musoleum of the Emperor Sher Shah Suri which attracts a lot of visitors. My wife comes from a village very close to the Rohtas Quila. We Biharis are proud of this great Bihari son, Sher Shah. It was interesting to know that there is another Rohtas fort in Pakistan Punjab. See, how we all are related by a common thread of history and culture!! Thanks Ema jee for enlightening me.

Shah Wali was a Syed saint and is buried next to fort. He was a cousin of my forefather from Gujrat whose forefathers came from Khwarezem around the time of King Mehmud Ghaznavid who ruled these lands.

@Zak ...just to add to your remarkable explanation...Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (India's Prime Minsiter 1947-64) in ‘The Discovery of India,’ 1946, p. 218, 225...“The impact of the invaders from the north-west and of Islam on India had been considerable. It had pointed out and shone up the abuses that had crept into Hindu society - the petrification of caste, untouchability, exclusiveness carried to fantastic lengths. The idea of the brotherhood of Islam and the theoretical equality of its adherents made a powerful appeal especially to those in the Hindu fold who were denied any semblance of equal treatment”...

@Zak The scond most visited tourist spot in India, after Taj Mahal are the Ajanta caves, constucted between the 3rd and 8th century. Look it up. 3 hrs away is Ellorah, a gigantic temple carved out of a simle rock, ca. 5th-6th century. Carving these rocks needed superior quality steel. Pl look it up.

@Zak My dear Zak you are just talking about 1500 years of the 17000 years of Indian history.

@atif for your information, taj mahal was not built by shahjahan. Its real name was Tejo Mahalaya and it was Lord Shiva temple before being looted by Mughal as always.

History needs serious interpretation. Sher Shah Suri ruled for approximately 12 years out of which 8 yeras,he was involved in various wars. So it is impossible to construct new road in such a short time even by today's standards. This attribution of constructing the road to Sher Shah needs critical examination. Apparently he may have improved existing line of communications. So is the architectural marvels attributed to Mangols. Even in the present time people in Mangolia live in tents! Mangols were looters by profession. They could not have constructed or encourages construction of buildings in such short times . As they were fighters, experts in the art of construction could not have been part of their initial groups. They could have followed them later on, which further reduces the time available for construction to the Mangols. Probably we have been fed wrong historical facts! Apparently all the constructions are by locals. Keeping the emotions apart, there is need to have a re look and freshly interpret the history.

@Zak When you admitted the pre- Islamic sub continent people/ lifestyle/custom you should know their religion also. Hinduism/ Buddhism was flourishing at that time and the same people converted to Islam that many Pakistanis never accept.

@Zak utterly uninformed. you too, have fallen victim to the propaganda of Arabs, thinking that they delivered you freedom from the tyrannical conditions of South Asia. Do not for a second think that Muslim invaders were reformists. They were plunderers and one of them stayed back in North India(not even the whole Indian landmass) to make a kingdom and he became MUghal. There is some reason that not one invention of repute has come out of Indian subcontinent after 12th century AD. Before that, we have had the Panini's theories, Charak's medicine and Kalidasa's epics. We have also had Vatsyayan's treatise on the philosophy of union and treatises on Mathematics and logic. Get out of this bubble of propaganda that your rulers have fed you. Indians are out of it. It would do good to Pakistanis to do the same.

I have served as Agricultural Officer in Dina in 1988. I have seen this area a number of times

@valiya We know our history Mister stop assuming about what we know or don't know.! I know my heritage I don't need you or any other Indian to lecture me.

@Professor Kumaraguru Yes you are right in this historical explanation.

It is a great post, taking us on a cyber tour of such a historical place.

@malkhan singh janjua Typical twisting of the facts.!

@Shamsher Singh Bajwa My clan does not have fond memories of the Sikhs in this our area.!

@haroon Shershah was born in Bihar India and is buried there too. He is a son of Bihar, India. He did have Pushtoon ancestry. But he was born lived and was buried in Bihar a great son of Bihar like that of Ashoka.

@sanjay prior to the 1500 years it's all made up and mythological.

@Sumit Mazumdar yes, the second.........! And no one has even heard of them in the world.

@rhetorick algebra comes from Arabic Al gabra( meaning numbers ), Chemistry comes from Al chemia, astronomy, maths, sciences, medicine, hikmat, all from muslim lands. The Mughals brought geometric inclusions into structure building, bridges, projectiles and armoury. They made gardens in deserts, water system for irrigation, and administration system unrivalled in the world. The British took over the mughal system and did not change a thing. They learnt from it. Like the circuit judges who travelled around to hold court. India has doctored its books on falsehood and soon indians will be considered buffoons when they regurgitate all the rubbish. Discard this learning, India made everything 5,000 years ago. Just learn from other books, even European ones or Arabic ones.

@Mohammad Rafique Mughal There is a Village and a Rajgaan colony inside the Fort.

@malkhan singh janjua lol......I have heard this before.

@Professor Kumaraguru source?

@Zak The word algebra may have etymological roots in Arabic( cannot confirm) but it is known without dispute that zero was invented in India. Great Chinese travellers Fahian ( faxain) and hseun-stang visited India . He learned Sanskrit to become a scholar in nalanda university...his entire journey is chronicled rather well.

@Zak Algebra by Khwarizmi was based on the work done by Brahmagupta on solution of equations. Aryabhatta, the inventor of zero, had calculated the circumference of the earth, accurate to the order of 10 long before any one in Europe or Arabia had the courage to say that the Earth is round. Don't disown the science and maths of the subcontinent. It's our mutual heritage.

@IBN E ASHFAQUE he wasnt the son of bihar nor was he indian, he was pashtun from ghazni,

@Anurag ...Ahh... so true... undoubtedly you guys invented zero... unfortunately the trend continues till this day... while we were busy producing heroes...

If you want to check the real 'Lion Kings of the Subcontinent' then kindly unearth the histories of like 'Maharana Pratap', 'Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj' and 'PrithvirajRaj Chauhan' who were not only the greatest of all but also showed great tolerance towards all religions unlike the other aggressors from North West!

If you want to check the real 'Lion Kings' of the Subcontinent then kindly unearth the histories of like 'Maharana Pratap', 'Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj' and 'PrithvirajRaj Chauhan' who were not only the greatest of all but also showed great tolerance towards all religions unlike the other aggressors from North West!

@rhetorick: Futile to expect something rational from them! Let them live in the Well which they call their World and are utterly happy with it! :-)

@Alarmed you forgot the center of islamic civilization, history,culture and education, Ghazni, Balkh and smarqand

@Alarmed: Banaras?? Are you serious? Seems like you need to get your facts right!

@Ahmed USA I was just reminding you of our common heritage... Sorry , forgot that ' you guys ' are not of subcontinental stock but arabs.

@Bhai mate have u heard of Al-Azhar university or the house of wisdom in Baghdad etc??

A delightful read

good information and nice vieiw of fort

@Professor Kumaraguru This is very informative thanks

@Bhai go and read history. european renaissance was due to scholarly works of muslims. importance of learning in islam can be seen from the fact that the first revelation received by Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) was about learning

@Cyrus Ho well, sher shah suri was not mughal ruler

Sad to see these artifacts in perishable situation, it does not matter its in Punjab, Sindh, KP or Blauchistan. All have the same fate, NO maintenance and seriousness to keep them. Before we know they will be gone and we will not even remember them.

Farid Khan was not born in Bihar but Soor area of Afghanistan but he was governor of Bihar. He was one emperor who was greater than Ashok and Akbar.In fact Akbar's cabinet was actually Shershah's cabinet! taccvi loan,land classification,rupaiaah,GT road are small part of his achievement.What he achieved in five brief years between 1540 and 1545 is the bar that was set up for all subsequent Indian rulers but none could match hi m as yet!

@brk Sher Shah (Farid Khan real name)was no Moghal but actually won war against them. You are right Mongols under ghangiz khan were looters, they invaded many countries its rather interesting some Gangiz Khan sons converted to Islam while ruling these muslim countries they occupied, that down the line are Moghals who extended empires from central asia to India.

amazing

@Datta Sindh and Baluchistan were connected with Oman, Bahrain, and Iraq on one end while the other route was Sindh/Baluchistan, Oman, Yemen, Ethiopia and Egypt. What is your pain by the way?

@Zak Well, it is all in the eyes of the beholder(s), isn't it? Conquerors and occupiers cannot be the judge of what is barbarity and civility; it is the people they oppressed and disenfranchised of their land, possessions, and dignity (and very often their very lives). There are no charitable and magnanimous acts in conquests and plunder, no matter how much lipstick you put on that beast. It is good to preserve our heritage - whether good or bad - if not for anything else but to remind us of what we had and what we lost. Celebration of the past should be evenhanded and honest.

@Bhai Muslim civilisation produced men of letters and wisdom: A brief partial list of their names and their areas of research are included for your kind information: Ali ibn Sahl Rabban al-Tabari, pioneer of psychiatry, clinical psychiatry and clinical psychology Ahmed ibn Sahl al-Balkhi, pioneer of mental health,[4] medical psychology, cognitive psychology, cognitive therapy, psychophysiology and psychosomatic medicine Al-Farabi (Alpharabius), pioneer of social psychology and consciousness studies Ali ibn Abbas al-Majusi (Haly Abbas), pioneer of neuroanatomy, neurobiology and neurophysiology Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (Abulcasis), pioneer of neurosurgery Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen), founder of experimental psychology, psychophysics, phenomenology and visual perception Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī, pioneer of reaction time Avicenna (Ibn Sīnā), pioneer of neuropsychiatry, thought experiment, self-awareness and self-consciousness Ibn Zuhr (Avenzoar), pioneer of neurology and neuropharmacology Averroes, pioneer of Parkinson's disease May Allah guide us all. Ameen

@Fateh We have the word of Allah in Arabic. Our dearest prophet was Arab. Hence, we as Pakistanis have a very strong connection with Arabs.

@ahsan He had never seen the face of Afghanistan. Yes his ancestors were Pakhtun, but he was born in Bihar lived in Bihar and preferred to be buried in Bihar unlike Babur who died in India but wished to be buried in Kabul.

Ref on front photo written ( Rani Mahal) Please note that Sher Shah Sori was not Mughal emperor.Wonderful place but in a worse condition.How our next generation will visit this place?Govt should preserve this Fort immediately.

@Professor Kumaraguru : Sher Shah Suri 's Reign was 17 May 1540 – 22 May 1545 .Mughals extended Grand Trunk Road westwards: at one time, it extended to Kabul in Afghanistan, crossing the Khyber Pass. It was Samrat Ashoka who build this road and Sher Shah extended and maintained this road .

Sher Shah Suri born in Bihar but educated either in Jaun Pur or Ghazi pur. He was great visionary and anable administrator. Jaunpur was great learning place in those days. Even Sir Syed decided to start scentific society in Ghazipur before the start of MAO college at Aligarh.

@Bhai I disagree with your assertion that universities are not part of Islamic culture. Islam puts a lot of stress on education and knowledge and encourages Muslims to attain knowledge. Unfortunately the Mughals, on the other hand, had no such desire. They were more interested in building big palaces, mausoleums and mosques. Please do not equate the Mughals with Muslims - while they were Muslims in name, their deeds were anything but.

Excellent pictures of place which I visited as a geologist looking for remains of past life (fossils) in that area.

@Zak Madrassa history lessons?

Thanks dawn for remembering the two great characters(the Lion King and poet-emperor Humayun )of Indian history through a photo feature. "The foundation of GT road which connects several cities of Punjab and extends to India, Afghanistan and Bangladesh was also laid down by Sher Shah Suri", the Dawn has rightly mentioned. Can I call it the longest highway till then done without the cooperation of World Bank!The GT road was also spread over to Myanmar.His another great accomplishment was introducing a modern mail-system based on horse or "Pony-express," all over his empire at that time,connected between Afghanistan to part of Myanmar through Mulk- e-Bangalah or present Bangladesh.By changing horses after regular intervals and swift boats in some places, the latest news reached to the sovereign's seat between 48 hours to 72 hours from any cornere of the empire.The system had been kept intact by Moughals after the accidental death of Sher Shah. Can it be possible for Pakistan government to propose in the next formal SAARC summit to rebuild the GT road as a great modern highway from Yangon to Kabul named after the Lion King with the cooperation with related member states Bangladesh, India, Myanmar and Afghanistan?Whenever I visit any member states of SAARC , I tried to search the traces of Grand Trank road and if I found, I walked on it for some time and remembered the great man.

i will plan to visit this great Qila Rohtas .

i will surely plan to visit this Qila Rohtas .